The Lovebirds in the Looney Bin
by VicodinDream
Summary: A special Saturday visit yields the best kind of surprise.


_Semi-based on a spoiler I heard, so if you don't want to know ANYTHING, leave now. Thanks J & L for the help._

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Booth was petulant.

"I can think of a million ways I'd rather spend a Saturday than this."

Brennan was reasonable.

"I think a million is a gross exaggeration."

But neither was going to yield.

"I'm not going."

"Well, of course you are. We all are. Cam, Sweets, Angela, Hodgins and us."

"Why?" He was whining now.

"Because it's important to Zack."

"That doesn't make it important me."

"Perhaps not." She agreed and for a moment there was a small light of hope in his eyes.

Her next words put it right out.

"But he's never made friends easily. His associations were always limited to the lab. And he seems quite…taken with this girl. And from what he says, she is fond of him as well. So when he asked that we come and meet her, I said yes."

"Still not important to me."

"I am attempting to illustrate that it is important to Zack and therefore it is important to me." She glanced at him as she finished dressing. "You are the one who is always going on about different kinds of families."

He closed his eyes and groaned. She had him. "Fine. But we're not taking Christine. She doesn't need to be in a place like that."

"She wouldn't recognize it as anything other than somewhere new. Any stigma that may be associated with it would come from the adults present."

"She's not going." He was damn well going to win some of this argument.

"I assumed you would feel that way, so my father is coming to stay with her."

"Good." He plucked a pair of brightly striped socks out of his dresser. "I'm not staying all day either."

"Visiting hours are only until 5."

The doorbell rang downstairs. "I'm guessing that's your dad."

"Most likely. Although it could be Hodgins and Angela. We're carpooling."

"If he brought that clown car I'm not going."

"Why would he? That's a two seater and there are four of us. Six if you count Cam and Sweets."

"We're carpooling with them, too?"

"Yes. It seemed wise to utilize the minivan. Fewer emissions that way."

The doorbell rang in unison with Booth's groaning.

"Will you please let my father in before the doorbell wakes Christine?" She smiled at him and then began to apply her lipstick. "I'm nearly ready."

He couldn't help but smile back. "Don't worry about how you look, Bones. It's a mental hospital. You'll be the hottest chick there."

"That is not why I am putting on make-up," She admonished with a playful swat at him as he walked by her. "And don't call me a chick."

He scooted out of her reach and went to answer the door. If he had to go on this miserable visit, then he could at least have some fun with it.

**B&B**

"So what do we do now, start singing 'Ninety Nine Bottles of Beer on the Wall'?" Booth asked as Hodgins pulled away from the curb in front of Sweets' apartment.

"I don't know what that means." Brennan frowned.

"You don't know the song?" Sometimes his partner still surprised him with what she didn't know. "Ninety Nine Bottles of Beer on the Wall."

Brennan shook her head. "No. I don't really listen to current music."

"It's just a way to pass the time, Sweetie," Angela said from the front passenger seat.

"Why is there beer on a wall?"

"It's a piece of Americana, Bones. Like John Wayne or apple pie."

"Actually, it comes from an English song called "10 Green Bottles", which is actually thought by many to be derived from a much older song that some suspect was a code for a super-secret society. The guy who found the old song from the 14th century went missing the day he was supposed to testify about his findings." Hodgins was nearly gleeful.

"Don't ruin it for me, okay?" Booth groused. "Next thing you'll be telling me John Wayne was Canadian."

"No, but apple pie is originally English, too," Sweets said from all the way in the back.

"If you tell me that apple pie is a secret society thing, too, I will put you in a Hannibal Lecter mask when we get to the hospital," threatened Booth.

"Who is Hannibal Lecter?" Brennan wondered aloud.

"Maybe today is not the day to joke about secret societies." Cam attempted to redirect the conversation. "Dr. Brennan, what do you know about this girl we are meeting?"

"Not much. Zack said he didn't want us to have any preconceived notions about her."

"She's in a mental hospital. That right there is kind of a big preconceived notion." Booth pointed out.

"Yes," agreed Brennan. "Which is why he didn't tell me very much else. I know she's a little bit older than Zack, but time is very linear in an institution, according to him, so it doesn't seem to matter. Other than that, I don't know anything."

"Not even her name?" Asked Angela.

Brennan shook her head. "If he told me, I don't remember it."

"It's not unusual for someone who is trying to gain the acceptance of others to keep certain facts to themselves." Sweets piped in. "If he wants us to like her, he would certainly keep certain facts a secret."

"Like why she's in a mental hospital." Supplied Angela.

"Exactly." Sweets nodded.

"Regardless, Zack is very excited to introduce her to us, so I think we should go in with an open mind." Cam suggested.

"I, for one, am very open minded," Brennan glanced sideways at Booth. "Unlike some people."

"Hey, I'm open minded!"

"You didn't even want to come."

"And still here I am."

"That's true."

**B&B**

The doors clanged shut behind them as the 6 of them sat down in hard plastic chairs around a long, pewter colored table. They'd signed in at the front, agreed to the rules and then been led down a dimly lit hallway to the slightly brighter room.

"This place is so…cold," Angela observed.

"It's a mental hospital, not Club Med," answered Booth

"Still, some color on the wall wouldn't hurt. Dingy white can't help anyone."

"Bright colors may be a stimulant for some," Sweets shrugged.

"Well this color is a downer."

"Well if Zack's in love, it probably all looks a lot brighter," Hodgins smiled.

"He didn't say he was in love," Brennan said.

"We're his family, Sweetie, and he wants us to meet her. That's never happened before."

"We knew Naomi in Paleontology," Brennan pointed out.

"Yes, because she worked at the lab. This is new. It means something," Angela told her.

"I agree," Cam said. "This is a big deal."

The door opened and Zack was brought in.

"Hello, Everyone."

Everyone got to their feet. Cam and Brennan and Hodgins were quick with hugs. Booth gave him an approving clap on the shoulder and Angela sidled up with a sweet kiss to the cheek.

"Is that going to make this mystery lady jealous?" She teased.

"No. She's not like that." He smiled shyly.

"You really like her." Hodgins smiled, too.

"Yes. She's very accepting of who I am. She knows all about me, what I've done and what I haven't done." He looked pointedly at Sweets. "And she accepts me completely."

"And what do you know about her?" Cam asked.

"I guess you want to know why she's in here."

"No…no. We want to know all about her," Angela said. "Everything."

"Especially why she's in here," interjected Booth.

"Booth!" Bones admonished him.

"I'm just saying that it's important."

"Agent Booth is right. If there is an issue with her that would hamper Zack's progress, they shouldn't be together," Sweets agreed.

"There's no hampering," Zack promised.

"Tell us about her," Angela encouraged. "We want to know all about her."

"Well, she's pretty. Really pretty. She's older than I am, but age doesn't matter in here, really. We have a lot of the same interests."

"She likes anthropology?" Brennan asked.

"Not directly, but she listens when I talk about it."

"Like Booth." An appreciative smile crossed Brennan's face.

"I suppose." Zack nodded. "She has 2 kids, but they're grown and she doesn't see them. Her husband is dead."

"Did she kill him?" Booth asked

"Booth!" Everyone but Sweets jumped on him.

"This is a mental hospital! It's possible!"

"It's a fair question," said Sweets.

"It is a fair question, but no, she didn't. She's been here a long time. She has many diagnosis and her meds are hard to stabilize. It's safer for her here than out in the world."

"So neither one of you is going anywhere," Booth noted.

"No. I'm going to ask the doctors for permission to marry her."

Several jaws dropped and only Angela was quick in response. "Wow! Well, that's great, Zack, but you've forgotten one very important detail."

"I have?"

"Yes. What's her name?" Angela grinned as the door clicked, indicating it was about to open.

"She's here!" Zack jumped from his seat and went to the door.

A woman entered, but that was all anyone could see. Zack was blocking her, and they were talking in low voices. The gang craned their necks to see, but they couldn't and their curiosity got the better of them, with Cam voicing it for them all.

"Aren't you going to introduce us, Zack?"

Zack turned to face his friends, still blocking the woman from their view. "Everyone, I'd like you to meet Marianne. Marianne, I'd like you to meet… everyone."

Zack stepped to the side and everyone smiled their most polite smiles. Cam and Angela said hello, Brennan said it was nice to meet her. Hodgins made some statement about any friend of Zack being a friend of his and Sweets merely nodded and smiled.

It was Booth who had the most interesting reaction.

He blinked hard, his jaw was opened in shock and he didn't say anything for a moment. And when he did speak, he surprised them all.

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_"Mom?"_

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**_Wouldn't that just be the best thing ever?! Booth's Mom and Zack is back! You know you love it. ;)_**


End file.
